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Murdered: Soul Suspect Review - PAGE 1

Murdered: Soul Suspect promised something different from the start, namely by combining the rarely-visited detective fiction with survival horror. Moving away from conventional action-adventure, Soul Suspect almost completely drops combat in favor of a somewhat intellectual approach, one that focuses on exploration and non-linear storytelling. Unfortunately, no matter how good something sounds on paper, good ideas are easily lost in translation. Reminiscent of classic point and click, the investigative gameplay becomes less about critical thinking and more about guesswork.

In present day Salem, Massachusetts, a serial killer known as the Bell Killer has been terrorizing the town through a string of bizarre and brutal murders. As a seasoned detective, Ronan O’Connor is no stranger to solving gruesome mysteries, but when he falls victim to the elusive Bell Killer, Ronan must unravel the circumstances of his own murder and all the secrets tied to it. This is apparently the only way he can move on, so to speak, and join his dead wife at the other side of the proverbial bridge. Talk about incentive. Lucky for Ronan, he’s a pretty smart guy, and not completely alone in his quest to not be stuck as a ghost for eternity.

How to Ghost

Ronan’s skills as an investigator in life become his greatest assets as a ghost, because this is apparently how things work after death. Fellow ghosts offer him helpful advice, before brushing him off to go back about their daily business of staring at the living. Being a ghost isn’t without its perks, like the ability to walk through most solid objects or possess living creatures, but even the dead have rules to abide by. Certain limitations prevent Ronan and the rest of the transparent community from gallivanting around as they please, like consecrated buildings or haunted zones.

Everything is spread across the not-quite open world confined within Salem. Story progression tends to lead Ronan back and forth to notable locations like the graveyard or church, which are typically locked until a plot point opens them. Between story investigations, our murdered detective can interact with other ghosts around town. Some will provide rather interesting backstories related to themselves or Salem, while the occasional ghost in distress will start a new investigation that has Ronan utilize his (your) powers of deduction. Gather clues, draw a conclusion, and report back.

Investigations are the meat of Murdered: Soul Suspect, and follow a basic problem-solving formula. First, a question or objective is given to the player, followed by evidence gathering. Each investigation has a set number of clues to collect, and not all are useful. Ronan has to then piece together the clues and form a conclusion, before the investigation is successfully resolved. These activities might be the best part about the game, because they remain true to the whole mystery thriller tone that Soul Suspect tries to establish the moment it starts. That’s not saying the system isn’t flawed. As the story progresses, the investigations seem to grow more complex, requiring more and more clues to solve. In the end, the higher difficulty is really just an illusion. Nonsensical red herrings are tossed in a poor effort to throw the player off, and illogical clues inevitably reduce investigations to guessing games.

Unresolved Issues

These detective work segments, in additional to collectibles that grant access to even more background lore, are about all Soul Suspect has to offer in terms of side content. The primary plotline doesn’t last very long on its own, so optional distractions are the way to go. Ronan’s personal quest for answers (or salvation, depending on how you see it) stretches only several hours, but it starts to drag barely halfway in. Toward its final hour, the narrative does mercifully pick up again, just enough to renew my interest. The excitement wasn’t long-lived, however, as the game decided to cheapen the finale with the sudden appearance of demons.

The thing about combat in Soul Suspect is that it lacks any sort of fighting. Demons are like predators of the afterlife that feast on unwitting poltergeists. Since Ronan happens to be on their list of favorite foods, direct confrontation is impossible. Whenever demons appear, their presence preceded by ghastly shrieking, he can either run or hide and wait for the opportunity for an execution prompt to appear. Basically, the only way to get rid of demons is by backstabbing them, and that involves a rather straightforward QTE prompt. If the sequence is interrupted or the demon spots Ronan, he has to lose the hungry creatures until they forget about him and reset. After going through this little ritual several times in a row, I’m just ready to call it quits. The mechanic just feels so out of place, especially when it’s practically abused as a cheap way of hindering progression.

I can’t place all the blame on the baddies, though. Ronan, despite being the one we spend the most time with, is the least interesting character out of the entire Soul Suspect cast. More than that, he’s the blandest protagonist I’ve had the misfortune of playing as in some time, and that’s strange because the game seems very story-driven. When his sidekick – a fiery young medium named Joy – is actually present, Ronan can come off as rather endearing. Through their interactions, we’re granted a proper glimpse of his character, far more substantial than what little is revealed via his inner monologues and the notes left behind by his late wife. Sadly, Joy never graduates beyond her role of supporting character, so her appearances are rather limited.

Final Thoughts

For a sharply dressed detective with obvious attitude problems, Ronan felt dead in more ways than one, and that didn’t exactly do the rest of Soul Suspect any favors. A strong line of supporting characters did breathe a little life into things, but they just weren’t enough to keep the whole game afloat. Although the narrative wasn’t entirely without its moments, brief and glimmering, the entire package fell tragically short. It wasn’t just unimpressive; it was disappointing.

Murdered: Soul Suspect remains an enigma to me. I went in wanting very much to like the game, totally hyped to play it, and I kept trying through it all, even as I slowly realized this wasn’t the same experienced I’d hoped for. Through it all, I do want to see more of Soul Suspect, because the potential is clearly there. Everything from the setting to the premise feels very promising, but looking past things as they currently are is going to take some work.

This review is based on the Xbox One version of Murdered: Soul Suspect. An early review copywas provided by Square Enix and used for our review.